Shigenaga Arma
Shigenaga Arma is a former member of the Arma Clan, reviled for his cruelty, greed and promiscuity: Shigenaga was exiled from his clan following a dramatic escalation in which two clan members of lesser renown were killed, allegedly for getting in his way, with only the timely intervention of his sisters Erzaria and Amamiya Arma preventing him from facing execution. While Shigenaga is a Shinigami of some power; he's far too disinterested in the simple life usually lead by what he haughtily refers to as mere commoners; preffering instead to continue honing his skills as an already accomplished Warlock, and further amass his already tremendous wealth through extensive dealing at the Soul Society black market. Shigenaga earns most of his excellent income from peddling supernatural drugs, magical items, organized crime and above all else; the fact that he's credited as owning no less than 70% of all brothels in the entirety of Soul Society - including several luxury saloons located in the more refined parts of Seireitei. Contrary to popular belief, this is the source of major income. Appearance Shigenaga stands at the great height of 6'4 feet and is known to appear quite intimidating; much due to the constant dissaproving scowl he keeps plastered over his face. Shigenaga is a tall man with a wide chest, broad shoulders and a fairly thick neck. He sports orange hair which he attembs to always keep neatly slicked back, but due to his hairs unruly nature it always seems to turn out in a somewhat spiky fashion; despite this, he always keeps his hair in excellent condition, hinting at a fair degree of vanity. Shigenaga always dresses in garments of impeccable style and exceptional tailoring, in particular favoring crimson or black silk, lightly embroidered wirh golden thread. His most common attire, and the one he's most commonly seen in consists of an elaborate tailcoat manufactured with a smooth crimson texture; and accentuated by fur-trimmed sleeves; the coat seems to be made in a different style than most of its kind; which makes it suitable for casual wear. To complete the attire, he wears dark pants and a maroon sash, coiled snugly around his waist. Like any wealthy man he also dons jewelry, including three rings on his right hand, most of them being gold rings crafted especially for him, each set with a small variety of different jewels. He wears lesser amount of jewelry on his left hand, being content with just a single plain golden band of excellent condition; each of Shigenaga's four rings however are inscribed with a different spell, the nobleman being a very cautious man indeed. While Shigenaga very rarely travels to the human world, on the few occassions where he's bothered to do so, he's dressed more sensibly, wearing a deep-red polo shirt over black pants and a simple belt, the only thing that hasn't changed is that he still dons his most iconic jewelry, namely a golden band emblazoned with a brown crystal at his middle finger; and his earrings. Both items being worth a fair deal to him. Shigenaga's muscular and toned physique, warm hazel eyes and natural charisma has managed to mold Shigenaga into a rather coveted man. Commonly considered to be rather attractive, not merely due to his looks, but also in regards to how he rarely fails to make an excellent first-impression, his viewpoints initially coming off as profound, intelligent and charming. Which ensures that to people that don't actually know him, Shigenaga leaves a very positive impression behind; an impression which sometimes leads to desire. These cases seem to happen with so great a frequency that its widely understood that Shigenaga somehow uses magic to enhance his natural charm and looks; even as he makes the subject of conversation subconsciously ignore all of his negative qualities. ﻿Personality Shigenaga is to most a rather cynical and sometimes even an outright cruel man - he has no qualms about speaking his mind in all situations and will often respond to people in a sharp manner; usually laced with an edge of sarcasm and contempt. He is generally unfriendly to people he meets and is quick to insult or otherwise berate them for even the slightest of errors. Having been taught from an early age that his quest for personal power, wealth and money is to take precedence for anything else, Shigenaga is ruthless in the pursuit of his own well-being and general self-interest, often being willing to double cross even trusted allies should the prize and rewards be great enough. Shigenaga is a man who is perfectly willing to charm, backstab and steal his way to the top and he has no qualms about double-crossing even his own men, although even so, he is extremely reluctant to do so, as loyal henchmen and workers are difficult to find, especially in his profession. Having been forged into a ruthless businessman by his late grandmother and as one of the more prominent figures of Soul Societies underworld, Shigenaga typically interacts with people and individuals he encounters to acquire their assets, talents and resources for himself, he's content to make those he approaches well-aware of his objective interest in them. They're often dehumanized and objectified to suit the warlocks needs, Shigenaga has few qualms upon looking at others in this way and often resorts to blackmail, threats and/or manipulation to hoard these more abstract resources for his own benefit. Shigenaga's willingness to ignore the lives of those that work under him often paints him in a negative light, but even so, he's known to be one of the more dependable crime lords and is often inclined to pay very well for their services to him. This is a benefit which few other prominent figures in the underworld of Soul Society are willing to grant, and therefore Shigenaga enjoys markedly high recruitment rates despite his flaws. Perhaps unexpectedly, Shigenaga, despite his unfeeling and cold disposition is still a man who knows how to appreciate beauty, sophistication and art. Shigenaga showcases this by frequently wearing high-quality clothing specifically tailored for his frame and is quick to respect or acknowledge people whom share his taste for finery and decadence. While the warlock usually thinks little of humans and their lack of backbone, he's still fascinated with certain cultures and ideas which he thinks holds merit, and which serve to showcase elegance of both himself and others. This is most strongly shown by the fact that Shigenaga is a surprisingly competent and sensual dancer, much despite what his outward appearance and mannerisms would otherwise suggest, having learned to dance by retrieving books on the matter from the human world libraries and from recently deceased souls. Though he's only had one or two teachers in his time, as its indeed very rare for him to encounter individuals willing to teach him, for this reason, Shigenaga sometimes visits the human world to pay for or at times, even force humans to teach him. In relation to this, Shigenaga also seems to possess a twisted outlook on aesthetic elements, oftentimes employing his magic to change the nature of something to better reflect his own personal ideal of what beauty is. By far the most well-known example of this is the enormous rose garden which separates his personal mansion from the rest of Soul Society and which surrounds his home. The garden is so large, that it basically resembles a small forest and its composed of pretty much every single variant of roses, from climbing roses to massive bushes large enough to resemble trees, to massive vines much larger than what would be possible in the human world, all sporting innumerable thorns. Its believed that the nobleman simultaneously enjoys the macabre appearance of their thorns and black stems and the often vibrant and delicate colors of roses, being fascinated by the intense contrast. However, while they're visually identical to roses, Shigenaga is still a cautious man with eccentric taste, and thus he opted to bewitch his entire garden, turning the roses into abberations whose thorns siphon the very essence of life from anyone whom as little as pricks their finger on them. Once the victim is drained, they invade their body while they're still alive and release innumerable seeds within their dying host, which are so enriched by the victims blood and latent spiritual energy so as to grow to impressive sizes within the span of a few hours. Subjecting the victim to a slow and torturous death, with their very decomposing corpse serving as the nutrients and the soil for the flowers themselves, who bloom quickly in a crown of impeccable black roses of great radiance and beauty. The black roses are one of Shigenaga's most admired and dear pieces of magic, and several visitors well-versed in magic have expressed their interest and admiration of his work. Shigenaga is known to enjoy flexible relationships with several romantic partners at once, although he very rarely keeps them around for extended periods of time, not particularly inclined to believe in love or affection -- Shigenaga believes that these emotions are but fleeting representations of mankind's wish for companionship meant to elude the simple truth of the matter; namely the lascivious nature of all humanoids. However, all of this is only at the surface, in truth, Shigenaga's promiscous and hedonistic lifestyle was brought about by how he even as a young child never received neither love or affection of any kind. His grandmother having been an extremely severe and ruthless woman, whom constantly denied him affection and care even as she callously taught him everything she thought he needed to know about how the world operated. It is later revealed that the reason that Shigenaga became such a promiscous man, is precisely because of how he was banished from the main household after his parents discovered his talent for magic and his unusually strong connection to the spirit realms. This coupled with the unloving nature of his grandmother spurred him into trying to prove to them, that someone wanted him. While Shigenaga believes he's long since forsaken these pathetic ideals and no longer seek companionship or affection, the fact remains that he deep down still longs for what he never had; even if he has forced himself into ignoring it. A man motivated almost entirely by self-interest, Shigenaga is greedy, cautious and callous; constantly weighing his actions upon what they might earn him; whether he deals in information, status, pleasure or money (or sometimes all four at once) is of no concern to him and he guards his property jealously: a businessman at heart, Shigenaga firmly believes that money is the only true dependable thing the world has to offer, a belief strengthened by his late grandmother. For these reasons, Shigenaga finds himself incapable of sympathizing with those in need, believing that helping others without gain is a waste of his ever-precious time and generally scolds and mocks those whom do so, stating such acts of disgusting selflessness to be "insufferably charitable". As a man with excellent connections in the underworld, and even in the Gotei 13 – Shigenaga commands an extraordinary amount of political power in relation to his age and status; having been capable of securing himself a position of nobility through extortion, blackmail and a great deal of bribery. However, unlike actual nobles, Shigenaga has no compunctions about using his resources to get aid from outsiders, using his name, wealth and political power to ensure that he's always got a sizeable batallion on his side. As expected of a man with that degree of political power, Shigenaga very rarely engages in combat directly and for good reason, because his abilities while powerful by all means aren't suited to combat at all and therefore, Shigenaga tends to react to confrontations in a cowardly manner, typically fleeing and having others fight his battles. Not being inclined to fight unless its absolutely necessary or when he's backed up into a corner with no way out. As a highly accomplished warlock, Shigenaga is well-trained in a wide variety of esoteric magical disciplines. He's particularly knowledgeable and interested in the kind of dark magic which deals with displacing, changing or transfixing souls and spirits, cleverly manipulating them into his own devices and twisting them into something else. Shigenaga has no compunctions about using these various rituals of black magic, even though the damage they cause is frequently permanent and sometimes irreversible. He's demonstrated a willingness to practice his spells on captives and even servants, and often does exactly that, destroying their mind and body methodically with his spells while he's taking note and observing the long-term effects on their bodies and spirits – among his more atrocious experiments is locking a young boy into a painting, turning another into an inanimate statue and transforming hostages into animals and feeding them to one another. When Shigenaga met Vladik, he displayed a macabre fascination and admiration of the work his fellow spell caster had done to create such a powerful and a complex curse as the one which affected the Quincy, to the latters chagrin. History Not yet revealed ﻿Powers & Abilities Child Genius: Shigenaga has been hailed as a Child Genius and indeed, when he had just started his formal training he displayed great aptitude for most forms of combat and quickly advanced forwards and ultimately surpassed many of his peers - in recent times however it would seem that this Genius has deviated somewhat as his growth rate has been severely halted since that time. His then Genius however, while impressive paled in comparison to that of many others and he was never concidered to be a prodigy, merely unusually gifted. High Intellect: Shigenaga's intelligence is one not commonly seen, as he tends to conceal it beneath a clever facade of sarcasm and vulgarity; and this is evidenced by how, despite his appearances Shigenaga almost always manages to keep several steps ahead of all his enemies at all times. Further testamented by how he's managed to keep his illegal activites as a crime lord a secret from the rest of Soul Society for this long, albeit admittedly, they've got very little interest in what takes place beyond their perimeters. Shigenaga's intelligence, while it could've been used for more altruistic purposes, it primarily used to constantly find new ways to exploit the system and come up with new ways to amass even more wealth; both of ressources and of knowledge, both magical and otherwise. However, by far the greatest testamony to his exceptional talents is his mastery of illusions, or more specifically his capability of employing them as his preffered form of combat. This takes basis in that illusions, specifically the kind that has the power to inflict actual damage, are noted to be very difficult to create, and commonly requires intense meditation to perform competently, making them highly unsuited for combat. That Shigenaga can employ these with such amusing ease; and even more impressively, use them in combat as easily as others wield a blade is fearsome indeed. Proving that his resolve, concentration and insight is effectively worlds apart from that of ordinary Shinigami. Enhanced Spiritual Awareness: Shigenaga possesses great Spiritual Insight which is effectively much above the norm of his clan and Shinigami in general. This allows him to correctly deduce the power of a technique as well as quickly calculate out a possible counter and how much energy it would take to overpower it. He's also capable of seeing weak points in a technique quite quickly which allows him to break down powerful barriers if they're done in a hasty manner by simply working upon their weaknesses. Great Spiritual Power: Shigenaga possesses a great amount of Spiritual Power which has on many occassions been shown to be on par with that of even Shinigami Captains - furthermore he has displayed an incredible level of control over it and he can use it for a variety of purposes in order to compliment his fighting style if nessecary, a solution he prefers rather than to expend his energy on Kidō spells, due to the much lower energy cost as well as the still satisfiable results. Shigenaga's Reiatsu is depicted as being primarily blue with a violet outline - Shigenaga's energy constantly revolves around him like a form of misty substance which is seeped with a great cold, as nearby surfaces become covered with rime as plants and living creatures shrink away or wither. Shigenaga's Spiritual Energy is strongly associated and bound to the element of ice. Enhanced Strength: Stemming from his great spiritual power and naturally bulky build, Shigenaga possesses a great deal of physical strength uncharacterstic for a spellcaster such as himself; this, when combined with his great height allows him to wield his Nodachi with but a single hand; while this affects his stamina in battle to a degree it is nothing too major and allows for a great deal of diversity. Fighting Style: Shigenaga's Swordsmanship has been described numerous times as being crude, but rather effective; not being formally trained in any particular art, his Kenjutsu is for the most part haphazard and flawed on its own. However, Shigenaga has come to bypass this to an extent by combining his incomplete swordsmanship with other skills and talents in order to form an unique fighting style; consisting of blending Kido and Swordsplay into a potent combination. His great strength and height allowing him to wield his Nodachi with a single-hand, leaving his less-dominant hand free to either bombard an unsuspecting opponent or use protective spells to overcome his own limited knowledge of close-range combat by defending his vulnerabilities - In terms of style Shigenaga's most employed tactic is to swap between single-handed strikes and two-handed strikes as well as put different amounts of force in each blow; he is so quick with his hands that many opponents simply fail to notice when he shifts the grip and by extension they're often surprised by the sudden change and drop their guard only to be bi-sected in the next moment. To more skilled opponents this is still a very viable option for Shigenaga as while they're unlikely to make any lethal mistakes he can still prevent them from truly getting into the rhytm of battle and brutally force them into his pace, effectively putting them at his mercy. Kidō Master: Shigenaga is uncharacteristically fond of Kidō Spells, especially in regards to which clan he hails from; for this reason he rarely makes use of it in front of other Clan members and prefers not to do so unless he is in a secluded place and away from prying eyes. His skill in the art is concidered to be his main asset and thus he's exceptionally skilled, believed to be on par with a member of the Kidō Corps, a claim that seems fair enough concidering that Shigenaga has used his conciderable resources to buy tomes and scrolls normally only available to the previously mentioned Kido Corps: And is indeed capable of casting several spells which aren't known to the Gotei 13. Shigenaga's magical talents are by no means restricted solely to combat; and he's fond of using sorcery to ease his way of life and make himself generally more comfortable-- using spells to accomplish more boring or ardious tasks with ease and efficiency, leaving much time to be spent doing more profitable work. Shigenaga's great natural skill and dilligent magical research and training has earned him the ability to cast most mid-to-low level spells with but a single hand, a feat which is concidered to be quite impressive and which he admittingly had to train alot to achieve; Shigenaga has also devised a method of which to cast spells beyond his level of skill by channeling the spell trough Jizaiten's blade; allowing his Zanpakuto to regulate the shape while Shigenaga himself applies the nessecary Spiritual Modifications - this allows him to bypass the incantation of several high-level spells completely but their potency and efficiency are both reduced noteworthily; the only exception being frost-related spells which can be cast entirely without regard to incantation in this manner and still keep all of their immense power - Shigenaga's most frequently displayed use of this perk is to cast Hado #89 Hyōga Seiran; with tremendous amounts of ferocity and called upon almost immediately, without the need to use any incantation or even name the spell in question. In his battle against Naraku Shukuzen Shigenaga displayed the ability to cast a Shitotsu Sansen spell twice at once, resulting in a the two triangles intermingling into a hexagon, increasing the spells potency greatly. Illusionary Movement: Shigenaga's skill with Shunpo is a matter that everyone seems to disagree on, both friends and foes. Some claim that he's a prodigy; a genius so profound that he could compete with the Shihouin themselves, and therefore hail him as one of its most talented practioners in the history of Soul Society. While others still claim that his skill is below average, that his movements are crude, sluggish and clumsy and that his talent is nonexistant - the general consensus though, is something inbetween, that his talents are slightly above average; and that those whom claim his abilities to rival the creators of Shunpo are vastly exagerrating. However, unbeknownst to all of these is the knowledge that all and none of their opinions are correct for Shigenaga's speed does indeed run the gamut from agoniziningly slow, to ridicolousy fast. But yet, Shigenaga possesses no talent for Hoho and is even incapable of using it outright, so how does he move? The answer is a paradox, a contradiction - for Shigenaga never actually moves a single step in combat; but yet the movement that his adversaries register is real nonetheless. For Shigenaga moves by strength of his opponents will and mentality - to those of lesser will, Shigenaga's movements are untraceable and unbelievably fast; to the degree that they feel stationary and inactive. To those with tremendous force of will however, his movements are sluggish and predictable, with about the same grace and elegance as that of a snail. In laymans terms, Shigenaga's speed is decided by his opponents; but in general its noted to be significantly higher than what they expect his movement to be, but less than they would fear. Stats Magical Abilities Master Evoker: '''Shigenaga's natural bond with the spirits, as granted to him by his fey heritage has blessed him with a rare talent for the art of summoning; in fact, during his youth he would frequently accidentally summon foreign spirits to his location. His grandmother realized his talents and worked to have him refine them over time, her knowledge of the art was imperfect though and she had soon taught him everything she knew. His growing skills in the art however soon caught the attention of Diabolus whom viewed his growing amibtions and desire for further enlightenment as an excellent oppurtunity to increase their own powers -- making use of their supernatural boons, they appeared in the young warlock's dreams and urged him to continue his craft, even resorting to mentoring him in the art of summoning their kin. It was meant to be just another investment on their part, no doubt - but despite their beliefs, Shigenaga was not as easily swayed as they had originally believed. When he first summoned one, he made certain that it was the most lowly Bestia he could find, knowledgeable about their innate cowardice in the face of greater beings - he never requested a faustian bargain from the poor creature, but instead used his magic to lock it away in its own pentagram, weak as it was, it could do very little but remain trapped. The young warlock then began to systematically experiment with finding out its epithet; it took a long time however, but when Shigenaga finally discovered its true name, he commanded it to tell him everything it knew about the art of summoning; and by extension revealed to Shigenaga the existence of the Yoriteishou; a group of human occultists whom specialized in the summoning and enslavement of Diabolus; the Bestia hoping that the warlock would destroy some of the summoners. For its short-sighted actions however, the Bestia was obliderated shortly after returning to the realms by its fellow Diaboli. It took approximately five decades for Shigenaga to find a group of summoners though, reclusive as they were, in the form of a nomad group of gypsies whom initially resisted his attembs at coercing their secrets out of them. Unfortunately for them, Shigenaga, having grown increasingly impatient over the decades he had spent searching was in no mood to tolerate it; and proceeded to slaughter most of the nomads - their fickle sorcery and weak devilish servants standing little chance against a Shinigami of his station. '''Sortiarius Adept: Having used his acclaimed knowledge to summon forth Diaboli from the The Realms, Shigenaga quickly used his newfound resources to conjure forth these powerful devils for his own purposes. Primarily to teach him more about the art of magic he had just had a taste of, seeing its great potential and power. The Diabolus were however reluctant to part with their secrets, and thus it became arranged that Shigenaga would allow the devils to feast on the souls of convicted criminals, sucking at their corruption and boosting their strength significantly - this tended to loosen the tongues of most Diabolus, but those with the greatest secrets were much more hesitant; and for those he arranged vessels through which they could physically enter and interact with the world, essentially freeing them from hell in exchange for servitude and loyalty to him. Through their counsel, Shigenaga's knowledge of Sortiarius blossomed and he became fairly proficient in the art - enough so as to use it to compliment in his Kido, in the few cases where it was appropriate. Master of Curses: Since he was brought up in the care of his grandmother, Shigenaga has honed his skills at curses, jinxes and hexes. These talents being made available to him through his grandmothers contacts, most evidently by her having coerced some of the less trustworthy members of the Kidō Corps to provide her with the means to teach her grandson. Shigenaga's come to embrace this gift over the centuries, frequently making use of it to coerce, manipulate and destroy his enemies, finding that many curses offer a quick solution to any dispute or disagreement; especially if Shigenaga took his adversaries loved ones into consideration. Curses are very frequently mistaken for being powerful enchantment spells and mind-related magic, but there is according to Shigenaga a huge difference between the two categories of magic. Curses affect the physical aspect of a subjects body, changing the state of the subject; including what it is and how it is. Enchantment spells on the other hand focus on the emotional aspect of the subject, changing the behaviour of the subject, along with what the subject does, as opposed to what it is - differentiating it from its counterpart. The exact workings of casting a curse can also vary, some requiring elaborate gestures, rituals and ceremonies in order to cast; although most of the lesser curses can be adminstered simply by speaking a single word, a cryptic command of sorts meant to slightly allude to the spells nature. Curses work by establishing a forced bond with one or more targets, linking the subjects to the will of the caster and thus allowing Shigenaga, provided his resolve is strong enough; to literally change the conditions, peculiarities and situation of the targets physical body. Shigenaga has found that curses are especially effective against spiritual beings, where a single curse can redefine his subjects for as long as he wants, provided its properly executed. In these cases, Shigenaga strengthens the established connection to the point that it becomes more like a semi-permanent conduit - allowing Shigenaga to more easily imbue his victim with his own thoughts, experiences and desires with added strength, sending his intentions coursing along the conduit and into their own spiritual bodies, in essence; injecting and 'drugging' them with his own commands and desires, overriding their usual behavioural pattern and forcing their bodies to do as he commands, even if they themselves are entirely self-aware the entire time. The most important distinction with curses, is that the victim is always aware they've been cursed, or at the very least that something is terribly wrong; as it produces a distinctive feeling of sudden dread in the subject, like if they just realized they had lost something very important. Mind Magic & Curses Master of the Mind: '''From the day he was given to his grandmothers care, he was always taught that power was what would ultimately drive him ever onward; and what greater power could ever exist than to be capable of manipulatiing the minds of lesser creatures, using his magic to cloud their judgement, twist their beliefs and goals to better match his own designs? To Shigenaga, the answer doesn't exist, and through his grandmothers wicked tutelage he learned how to use his natural gift to make his ends meet, allowing him to make sworn enemies regard him as a close friend. While Shigenaga in his younger years loathed to use his magic like this, he soon grew accustomed to its power - and whenever he held the psyche of someone else within his hand, he somehow always felt fulfilled, content; a mindset derived from a desperate need to have control over his own life. Shigenaga only continued to refine these talents during the time he spent building himself a name of his own, allowing himself to quickly climb the ladders in the underworld of Soul Society. Through the centuries spent honing his natural abilities, Shigenaga's control over the mind has only increased; being capable of weaving powerful illusions, tricking Shinsengumi Member Hyūga Majeh into murdering his fiancee; through the use of a carefully constructed illusion. Through his training, Shigenaga has become a powerful illusionist, enchanter and manipulator - using his abilities to dominate, humiliate and torment the psyches of friends and foes alike, it is for this reason that its said that Shigenaga is alot more dangerous when he's not fighting than when he is. '''Master Illusionist: Shigenaga is noted to be extremely proficient with illusions, weaving them with such skill and subtle elegance so as to make them practically indestinquishable from reality. With ease, Shigenaga can paint the environment however he wishes, being particularily skilled at projecting forth almost insurmountable obstacles for his adversity to overcome, progressively laying false perceptions upon false perceptions to ensnare his opponent ever further within his web of deceit and guile. In particular, Shigenaga understands the nature of the mind, its a fickle and uncertain thing, which overrelies on its sensory imputs, whom may or may not be accurate to make its decisions; Shigenaga knows how to take advantage of this, and does so very frequently. His magic is mostly used in order to sow fear, uncertainty and discord within his foes; he does this to weaken their resolve, which works to strengthen his grasp on their minds and make his illusions seem even more real. So powerful is Shigenaga's Illusions that their effects are real if his opponent even for the briefest of moments are tricked into believing they are so, and once this happens they're capable of inflicting actual damage, even to the point of death if employed under the right circumstances. Indeed, Shigenaga's phantasms and illusions are so vivid, so detailed that even opponents whom know they are experiencing an illusion have great difficulty disbelieving them; as their minds experience vast difficulty with comprehending the very notion that these immensely vivid images are not ''real, almost as though their very minds wished to continue being fooled - such is the strength of his illusions. Shigenaga's interest always lied primarily within the darker kinds of illusions; an interest that eventually lead to Shigenaga discovering their immense effectivety against spiritual being; as their bodies are fuelled by their willpower, any illusion can be extremely dangerous to even the most powerful of spiritual beings if they believe its real. Eventually, he realized that his illusions are the most effective when drawn from the darkest reccesses of his victims mind; and as such Shigenaga began to study the intricacies of illusions, using his own servants as guinea pigs whenever it suited him. Through dilligent research and testing, Shigenaga has come to develop a variety of powerful illusionary spells. Shigenaga displays little care for the psychological well-being and privacy of his victims, having given himself permission centuries ago to use whatever means nessecary to claw his way to the top, and as such he uses his disturbing magic with unrestrained abandon whenever it suits him. One of Shigenaga's greatest talents lies in abusing illusionary magic for the purposes of disguising, twisting and even outright erase phenomenons. Among his crowning achievements is the ability to change his own apparent gender at will, appearing for all purposes to be a beautiful well-endowed woman to all the primary senses of anyone looking directly at him, a very powerful glamer that he's learned to use seemingly at will - employing it primarily for illicit trade and smuggling, in order to hide his true identity. Notorious for using his magic to amass more wealth, Shigenaga can easily be tempted to employ illusions, phantasms and the like to secure more finances, and he's known to routinely swindle residents of the Rukongai by turning a pouch of pebbles into Kan and then proceeding with buying as much supplies as possible, his greed preventing him from wasting money on ''commoners. His skill within the art of disguising something as something else is appearantly so great that he's capable of hiding illusions within other illusions, creating several layers of phantasms and figments which are linked together by his will and form a much larger picture. Namely superiour illusion of such fearsome power that its virtually impossible to disbelieve. But yet the greatest testament to his tremendous abilities as an illusionist is however his ability to place contingent illusions, whereas each broken illusion immediately culminates in another predetermined one, creating long-lasting chains of phantasms that continously test every decision made, and whom deal progressively more damage as they go on. Inherited Spells Due to his heritage, Shigenaga is capable of casting a small selection of additional spells which were taught to him by his late grandmother and further refined over years of practise; these spells are hard to cast under any circumstance and Ki-Rin blood seems to be nessecary in order to make use of them. Making them non-castable by anyone whom doesn't have Ki-Rin lineage. These spells come completely naturally to Shigenaga and by extension he needn't speak their name or make any particular somatic gestures in order to cast them, and is capable of doing so whenever he so wishes; provided that he has the nessecary energy to fuel such an effect. Personal Spells Kyōen no Yobu (饗宴の呼ぶ, "Call of the Feast") Harken the pact marred neither by neither flesh nor bone, you who carry the burden of pride, unrepentant one, immortal vestige of a thousand graves. In thy realm amidst thousand unlit candles. Hunting at dusk, feasting by dawn, the grim silence of stealthy paws, the desperate shriek of choking throats. Sheets dyed red with blood, innumerable empty cradles - beloved by the night, banished by the rise of day -- terror, fear, upon this sinful hour invoke thy servants upon my unworthy request, as I pledge their game to your name! A powerful summoning invocation only made possible by Shigenaga's extensive research on demonology, curses and the human traditions of classical witchcraft. The spell is a short ritual which upon the completion of the final syllable of the initial incantation requires Shigenaga to spill a significant amount of blood (preferably his own for the best results) upon the ground, the exact amount of blood spilled, and the spiritual concentration present therein determining the exact amount of creatures summoned. The puddle of blood working as a pathway between Shigenaga's current location and the lower realms of Hell - extending down into the very corridors of Tartarus. Being a pact, whenever Shigenaga casts this spell he pledges himself to the temporary service of Beherith - and in doing so, each death caused by the creatures summoned in this manner, strengthens his ties to Hell and to Beherith, tainting his soul and binding it for Tartarus upon his inevitable death. The creatures summoned may be any denizen of Tartarus whom happen to answer his call and that his strength is sufficient to invoke effectively without aid. The most common Diaboli to answer his call, are Barghests, gruesome apparitions whose outward appearance as dogs mask their malice, cunning and cruelty perfectly. These creatures are powerful, with a single Barghest usually being considered to be somehow equivalent to that of a higher-ranked Hollow in terms of strength, with many of their numbers even rivalling the Gillian in terms of raw power. The reason Barghests are the ones most frequently summoned, is largely due to the specific wording in the incantation itself on Shigenaga's part, as well as partially owing to the fact that they're lured by spell of freshly spilled blood and open wounds. Summoning Barghests are not without its risks however, as these are ruthless creatures of murder and darkness and are likely to turn on their summoner if he loses control over them for even a moment. Whereas Shigenaga originally had difficulties summoning anything but Imperfect Barghests, careful discussion and coercion of demonic servants eventually allowed him to summon their complete counterparts, whom are far less likely to betray him and whom are much more powerful overall. The exact amount of Barghests summoned vary upon the amount of blood sacrificed, but its generally around three to five of them at once. Inherited Abilities Being directly related to a Ki-Rin of some power; Shigenaga, and a few other lucky members of the Arma Clan possesses an innate affinity for magic and all things related to his extraordinary ancestor. The gift is particularily strong in Shigenaga and he's demonstrated a modest selection of different qualities and abilities which are normally reserved solely for the Ki-Rin. What these otherwise noble and gentle creatures think of their powers being used by a man such as Shigenaga Arma however, is easily imaginable. The inherited abilities includes the following. Walk Undisturbed: Just like his Ki-Rin ancestors; Shigenaga may walk or run over any kind of terrain without disturbing it or being affected by any harmful obstacle in his path (generally things which are debilitating to wade trough, such as briars, thorns, poisonous plants, etc). Also, when traveling over any form of natural vegetation and terrain; the energy of his latent lineage causes energy to suffuse his soul and make his movements faster, without any additional strain to his body; as the land itself aids him in his movement. Fleeting Charm: Shigenaga may turn himself invisible at will, without the need to expend Reiryoku or casting a spell; like the Kyokko spell, this masks his energy perfectly as well ---in fact, its relative potency is greater still than that spell and it even allows Shigenaga to decide when and if to become temporarily visible, this may be decided at will and he can freely slip back into invisibility; this effect only lasts for a certain amount of time though and at the current point in time he’s only capable of using this special ability once each day. Innate Magic: Shigenaga’s entire being is naturally suffused with primordial energy which constantly surges trough his very essence; for this reason, he has significantly less difficulties in casting spells than most others of a similiar level of experience; and as a direct extension he may cast spells or use his frost-related abilities more frequently than most of his peers, without becoming too drained and fatigued: This ability is not restricted to Shigenaga alone though, and it is believed that all members of the Arma and Satonaka clans have this particular trait; even if only the fewest make any actual use of it, or are at all aware of their gift ---due to this, Shigenaga has been capable of casting spells since he was an infant, and would frequently do so accidentally, which lead to him being given to his grandmother for instructions and training. Gate of Spirits: Similiar to but fundamentally distinct from a Garganta is the so called Gate of Spirits; it is a very powerful ability used by many powerful spiritual creatures to travel freely between the different worlds; It summons forth a surge of primordial and pure energy which proceeds to shape into a whirling flux of violent energy which then intensifies and takes on an almost liquid-like composition; like a mirror of the clearest water. Its the most primal of the translocation techniques but also somehow the most natural and stabile one; as spirits are naturally welcome in all corners of the spiritual realms this ability may bring the user and his or her companions to virtually anywhere; provided they know it exists and are capable of visualizing it properly upon useage. The ability has a second way of use, though. It can also be used to summon extraplanar entities such as Diabolus and Demons and can, with certain more advanced adjustments be configured to attempt to enslave such creatures as well, making it a very viable tool of summoning. Due to the great complexity and intense mental strain involved, Shigenaga is only capable of utilizing this ability once per week ---lest he suffers dire penalties and intantenous fits of exhaustion and great fatigue. Anyone whom steps trough the Gate of Spirits are instantly shunted to the other side, they do not pass trough the Dangai or any similiar obstacles that may lie in the way and there is no danger of any sort, as the process of transfer is instantenous and thus any breakdown won’t harm the creature passing trough it any way; making it one of the few 100% safe methods of interplanary travel. ''Trivia'' *Mahesvara is the name of Shiva in Buddhist teachings - so both forms of his Shikai is essentially the same name-wise. *The effects of Jizaiten and Daijizaiten that deals with linked medical conditions are all actually based off of real phenomenons.﻿ Category:Arma Clan Category:Njalm2 Category:Male Category:Shinigami